Happy 4th of July!!

All of the fellows and most of theire families joined us for a 4th of July cook-out yesterday. Despite the rain, we had a good time. Olivia asked if she could be in charge of pictures for the party so I gave her the camera. Rather than taking pictures of the guests, she took pictures of every single thing in our house, including all the rooms in her dollhouse and each princess on her lamp. We do have a few pictures from the Freedom Over Texas fireworks show downtown.

Olivia loved the fireworks, just not the noise. After a while, though, she took her hands away from her ears and seemed to enjoy herself. McIver loved looking through the fan - it made the fireworks even cooler looking!

We snapped a quick picture before loading up to come home.

Happy Birthday, America!

Episcopal Night with the Astros

Last night was Episcopal Night with the Astros (vs. the Phillies). The Bishop of Texas Don Wimberley threw out the first pitch. Olivia went with her friend Mae and her parents (and apparently liked their seats better) and then met us in the 6th inning at Sqeeze Play. McIver loved the hot dogs, of course. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave as they went into the 11th inning tied at 4-4 because we were all just getting too tired to last much longer. It ended up being a great game with the rookie Hunter Pence hitting a home run in the 13th to win the game for the Astros.

McIver in the 'dug out' on our way into Squeeze Play (get it, "Squeeze Play" at Minute Maid Park!). It had the biggest playground structure I've ever seen.

Mae and Olivia after playing in Squeeze Play.

McIver with silly hair like the kid from Meet the Robinsons.

Olivia and Will watching and hoping for a home run!

Galveston Beach

We spent yesterday afternoon in Galveston with friends from Olivia's class at school. The weather was great and the waves were big. It took a little while (and some peer pressure) but Olivia finally went out in the ocean and loved it. McIver said he loved when the waves went over his head.

Mae, Olivia & Sydney
5 kids playing together happily so the moms could

have a conversation with complete sentences!

feeding the kamikaze seagulls.

Olivia's Theatre Camp

Olivia has been in theatre camp for the last 2 weeks at Main Street Theatre. She loved every minute of it. Their theme was Happily Ever After so, of course, she was thrilled with the idea of being a fairy princess. Their play, which they cast and wrote themselves with some direction from Mr. Matt, was called The Fairy Princess Ball. Olivia and her friend Mae were the twin fairies, Ebony, princesses of darkness. They told the other fairies, "No Dancing." Then the other fairies convinced Ebony to learn to dance... and they all lived Happily Ever After.




Olivia's costume, including a very made-at-the-last-minute wand.

Olivia with her friends Mae, the other twin fairy Ebony, and Sydney, the Sapphire Fairy.

Olivia and Sydney with Mr. Matt, their director.

Fathers' Day 2007

Will was so looking forward to a round of golf at River Oaks CC with friends from church, but they were rained out. We did celebrate with breakfast and dinner together. And, since he couldn't actually play golf, he spent a lot of the afternoon watching it on television.

An Evening at the Pool

We have really enjoyed the new pool this year. It's closer to home and we already have lots of friends who go there, too. We spent last Friday night there - swimming and eating pizza.

McIver hasn't quite gotten up the nerve to jump off the diving board yet this year

(although he was doing it at the end of last summer).

I give him a few more weeks before he'll be jumping off like a pro.

Olivia swims like a fish - she loves to make up new jumps off the diving board.

We were glad Dad could finally join us on Friday night. We usually go during the day and then are too tired to go back after dinner.
Olivia loved having Dad there b/c he's actually strong enough to throw her far and flip her fast.
McIver loves watching the big kids play foosball... and getting an ice cream during the 10-minute breaks.

Olivia's Lost Tooth

Olivia lost her 3rd tooth (bottom left looking at this picture) this morning . . . only problem is that she really lost it. For the second time, a tooth has fallen out while she's eating. We searched high and low but couldn't find it so we're assuming that she swallowed it. She's not worried about the toothfairy not coming this time!

McIver's blessing

McIver jumps at the chance to say the blessing most nights. It's about the sweetest thing you've ever heard...

"I've got 10 little fingers
And they all belong to me.
I can make them do things,
do you want to see? (you must answer 'yes')
I can squeeze them tight,
and I can open them wide.
I can put them low,
and I can put them high.
And I can make them hide.
I can put them in a very special way (brings them together).
I think about my God and I decide to pray."

Then we all go into "God Our Father."

McIver and I were trying to figure out the difference between a 'smooth roller and a bumpy one' today as we drove past a bunch of construction on our way to camp. When I told him that I didn't know the difference, he suggested that we ask Bryant Nixon. I was impressed that he remembered that Bryant knows all things construction. Bryant - if you're out there, please let me know so that I can pass it on to my future construction worker!

Post Dinner Walk

We like to go for a walk after dinner when everyone's in a good mood (and sometimes when we're not that helps!). Olivia especially likes to ride her bike because she had to get a new helmet - princesses, of course, to match her bike. We took a few pictures just for fun.

McIver's waffle burn

Will was on call last night and the kids and I decided to have 'breakfast for supper.' McIver accidentally backed into the waffle iron and burned his arm pretty badly. He insisted that I take a picture of his bandage today. And, he also said that if I wanted to I could also take a picture of his tattoo from VBS... so I did.

You might notice that the black Power Ranger sunglasses have been replaced with Spider Man. The Power Ranger pair met an untimely demise when Mac stepped on them at the gym. Not to worry, he loves the new pair at least as much.

More Big Canoe Pictures

Andrew loved playing with the camper.

Even though the Wildcat pool is awesome, we made some time

for playing on the beach, too.

The only group picture all weekend was taken by Olivia.

Olivia's newest passion is playing Uno - she's pretty good. And, she's very cut-throat,

thanks to Aunt Dawn's lessons in being a not-so-good winner!

Cacoo & Christian helped Pop figure out the

new ice cream machine. Christian did most of the churning with a

little bit of help from on-lookers.

Big Canoe - Memorial Day Wknd 07

Olivia, McIver and I rode up to Big Canoe with Pop on Friday. They loved the pit stop for doughnuts and slushies on the way up! Once we got the car unloaded, it was time to wait for Daddy, Nanoo, Cacoo & Christian, and the YaYas to arrive. We spent the weekend just enjoying being together.

We gave Pop an early Fathers Day present - an ice cream machine.

It's particularly cool b/c you can either use the hand crank OR plug it in for easy ice cream making. We tried out two recipes - my fave is the Mexican Chocolate!

Olivia and McIver show off their new shades. Mac wore his ALL the time -

even when inside watching Cars with Andrew.

We all loved the new Wildcat pool. Everyone loved the sprinklers,

the rainbow and the buckets.

Will took a break from peeling shrimp so I could snap this shot.

He made a DELICIOUS shrimp & grits for us Saturday night!

Sadie & Julia

More Macon Pictures

Olivia, Madison & Emma playing playdough with Grandma Myrtle. McIver helped Pop find just the right tool to fix the tricycle.
Olivia discovered Cacoo's Razor Scooter and zipped all over the place.
Mac with the T-Rex skull - and his Power Ranger sunglasses which he wore ALL the time.
Olivia with the bear skeleton at the Museum of Arts & Sciences.

Visit to Macon - May 20007

We're having a good visit in Macon with Nanoo, Pop and Cacoo. Olivia and I enjoyed going to Catherine's dance recital - she was in 8 performances! The kids are loving the pool - they have been swimming three times every day even though the water is still super cold. It has taken a few days, but McIver is slowly becoming more and more brave. Went to the Museum of Arts & Sciences this morning. They loved the dinosaurs fossils and bones. We also went to Kangaroo Bob's - along with about 4 local class parties. Olivia and McIver said they liked Kangaroo Bob's better than Pump It Up or BounceU.

Mothers Day 2007

Happy Mothers Day to all! I could not have asked for a better Mothers Day - Olivia, McIver and I went to the Family Service at church this morning. They were able to light the candles so they thought that was pretty cool. Father Sam invited all the kids to the front to sit with him and it was nice (finally) not to have to worry that McIver would wander around getting into trouble. He sat right next to Fr. Sam and was able to say something into the microphone (I DID worry about what in the world would come out of his mouth, but whatever he said was benign enough that I've already forgotten!). Will was on call yesterday and had to round this morning so he wasn't able to make it. But, we all enjoyed a wonderful get-together with the DuMays and a bunch of folks for dinner.

Austin with the Stricklins

Will and I had a great, great weekend in Austin with Gay & Don Stricklin. After getting all of our kids set up with their respective sitters (LaToya stayed with O & Mac and they didn't miss us for one minute!), we headed out of town early Friday night. Once we finally got to Austin, we had a delicious dinner at Threadgills and made our way to 6th Street. We found a duelling piano bar called Pete's and sang our hearts out, making friends in the proces, until 3am.

Saturday got off to a slow start. Brunch at Kerbey Lane hit the spot! Then we went to the UT campus to enjoy some people-watching. Now I know where "Keep Austin Weird" came from! Once we all napped and watched the Kentucky Derby, we were ready to attempt night #2. Don suggested Romeo's for dinner. The food was delicious and we were entertained by all of the high school prom-goers. Little did we know that we would end up hanging out with high-schoolers for a great part of our evening. We made our way back to Threadgills for some live music but it turned out to be a high school Battle of the Bands. We voted for Max & Henry - renamed Max & Ruby by those of us with small children!

Finally, we were able to find more adult entertainment at the Continental Club. Elana James can play the fiddle like nobody's business. She was followed by Mother Truckers. By then, though, Gay & I had had our fill and were ready to head home. The guys talked us into a late night trip to WhatABurger before we called it a night.

We enjoyed a quick breakfast at Guero's Taco Bar in SoCo. Sadly, we didn't take a single picture, but we did have a great time and are looking forward to our next get-away with the Stricklins!

Olivia's Dance Recital

Olivia's dance recital was today. Her group danced to Lollipop. Olivia was front and center and did a great job. She didn't even glance to the side once to watch Miss Amanda. It was very obvious that she was having lots of fun!

Olivia's Fish Class Party

Olivia class celebrates everyone's birthday together at a party in May. I was a Party Mom today (the first party I've been able to attend all year b/c I'm usually at school with my class) and McIver was lucky enough to get to go with me. The kids all had a ball decorating cookies in the shape of their name, making picture frames, bowling and singing. McIver liked feeling like a big kid for a little while.

What happened to the Dinosaurs?

McIver's class is 'studying' dinosaurs this week. His teacher, Mrs. Paisley, asked the class "What do you think happened to the dinosaurs?" There were some funny responses. McIver said "Maybe strangers and mad dogs got them."